A Life Worth While
by RosieShiba
Summary: After travelling for five years, Emily returns to a very different home than she left. With her parents on the brink of collapse, her sister deathly ill and her brother hovering in the shadows, Emily wonders what she can do to help. One-shot.


**OK, this fic is weird. It is sort of a family drama that trails off into a bit of family fluff at the end. The ending may seem a little odd but I think it symbolises how family life can be. Each moment can be totally different from the one before. And plus I love happy endings, so here it is.**

**Continuing for A Life Less Adventurous.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

If there had been any warning to what she was coming home to then maybe she wouldn't have bothered. The house was a state. Washing lined the sides of the kitchen, the hoover was in the centre of the room ready to be used and there was the stale smell of last week's dinner coming from the oven. How had her parents lived like this?

Emily carefully and cautiously walked into the house. Deathly quiet, it was almost haunting. Mustering all her courage, Emily closed the door behind her.

"I'm home!" she cried.

There was a thump from the living room. Now she felt bad for the surprise visit but awfully glad her friends hadn't come here with her. Whoever was home was in the living room. They groaned as they walked towards the kitchen.

Emily bit her lip, wondering who it was in the house. She was surprised to see a purple haired man that seemed to look like her father, Paul, but something wasn't right. He hadn't shaven in a while or brushed his hair. He looked at Emily with wide eyes, rubbing his neck.

"I wasn't expecting you," he stated.

"I thought it'd be a nice surprise," she replied. The two of them stood staring at each other for a few minutes. The fifteen year old rubbed her arm while the thirty year old rubbed his neck. Nothing was said for the next few minutes. Paul had no idea where to start. Emily had no idea how to ask.

"Erm…" Emily said but all her courage disappeared instantly. Paul stretched.

"Sleep's over rated," Paul told her, "Let me get you a drink."

"OK," Emily said. She watched her father pass her as he walked towards the sink. He paused, looking for a cup and a spoon and the tea bags. He hoped Emily didn't want sugar. He hadn't seen the sugar pot in weeks. "I'll have water, please."

Paul let out a breath of relief. He rinsed a glass quickly before filling it up with cold water. He passed it to Emily. She had to ask him what was wrong but every attempt died on her tongue before she could open her mouth.

"I'm glad you didn't call," Paul said suddenly. He chuckled. "Dawn would have gone crazy to tidy up. She doesn't have the energy at the minute to go wild."

"I'm sorry," Emily replied, "I should have warned you but I just wanted to surprise all of you."

"Don't apologise," Paul told her softly, "We should've warned you what had happened but it was something we wanted to do in person. It couldn't have been done over the phone."

"Well I'm here now," Emily said, "You can tell me and I can help you."

"It started a year ago," Paul explained, "Pepper became sick. About eight months ago they diagnosed her with cancer."

"No," Emily gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth. Tears threatened to pour down her cheeks instantly. Paul gave her a reassuring nod.

"She's stable at the minute," Paul told her, "Dawn and I take it in turns to see her."

"You didn't tell me?" Emily asked, "You didn't think to tell me?"

"Like I said," Paul replied calmly, "We didn't want to tell you over the phone."

"She's my sister!" Emily yelled, "I deserved to know before now!"

Paul blinked at his eldest daughter with a surprised expression on his face. Emily glared at him for a few seconds before she bowed her head.

"Eight months," she muttered, "Eight months when she could have died. Eight months I wasn't here to see her!"

"Calm down," Paul snapped, suddenly loosing his temper, "I would've come and fetched you if there was any indication she was going to die. She's not going to die. She's strong and she's been fighting it every single day so don't even think that."

"Cancer kills, Paul," Emily replied. She clamped her hands over her mouth for a few seconds as it registered in her head what she had just said. If Paul noticed he ignored it.

"She's like you and Will," Paul said, "She's stronger than she looks. She's also as stubborn as hell, like me."

"You should have told me," Emily told him, "I'm not a child anymore, dad. I deserve to know."

"If you're not a child anymore, starting acting like one," Paul replied. He ran a hand through his hair as Emily shut her mouth. She glared at him. "Don't give me that look."

Her glare intensified a little. Yeah, she was definitely his kid. The glare, the attitude and the stubbornness. It all pointed to him. Paul put a hand on her head, ruffling her hair like he used to whenever they had an argument. Emily's features relaxed as Paul withdrew his hand.

"I'm tired," he stated, "I've been going seventy-two hours straight. I don't want to argue anymore, Em."

"Well, if you've been up three days then you should go and attempt to get some sleep," Emily said, "Take some ear plugs with you."

"Dare I ask why?" Paul asked.

"I don't know about you, but I can't live like this," Emily replied, pointing at all the mess, "Seriously, if you don't have a Trubbish infestation then I'll be amazed."

"Fine," Paul said, smirking, "Although I'm surprised you're offering to clean up. Maybe you have matured on your travels."

"Don't start," Emily growled in a playful way as she glowered at her father. Paul chuckled. Emily smiled at him sweetly as he yawned. "Go get some rest. If you don't go to sleep then I'm going to set my Jigglypuff on you."

"Arceus forbid," Paul remarked. He walked to the doorway of the kitchen. "I'll be a few hours."

"OK," Emily sang. Once Paul was gone, Emily looked round the room. It was going to be a long day. "Well no point looking around, Em. Come out broom and duster, you're going to have one hell of a training session."

When Paul woke up a few hours later, he stumbled downstairs to find that everything was pretty much cleaned. He glanced round as he spotted several Pokémon he didn't recognise darting around with cleaning supplies in their hands/claws/flippers.

"Empolie?" a large blue penguin asked. Paul recognised this Pokémon. It was once Emily's Piplup.

"How are you doing?" Paul asked, "I see you've got everything covered here."

"Polie," Empoleon nodded.

"Where's Em?" Paul asked.

"Whimsicot," a strange cotton bud Pokémon replied. Paul blinked a few times, having mistaken the Pokémon for a cushion. The cotton thing pointed towards the back door. Paul nodded quickly before he scurried to the door. He passed various strange Pokémon as he walked through his house. He concluded Emily had come straight from Unova and that's why he didn't recognise any Pokémon.

Emily was hanging out some washing with a unicorn sort of mole creature with large steel claws. Paul paused. What strange Pokémon. Maybe he should've gone to Unova when he was younger.

"Oh hey sleepy head," Emily greeted Paul.

"Care to explain why my house has become over run by freaky Pokémon?" Paul asked.

"Exca," the mole Pokémon barked at Paul. Paul glared at it. The Pokémon was intimidating but was no match for Paul.

"Don't scare Excadril," Emily scolded as the large Pokémon hid behind her, "Especially since he's done all your laundry for you."

"That doesn't help his case any," Paul replied, "Having strange Pokémon going through my dirty washing is a little unsettling."

"Oh shut up," Emily snapped, "Big baby."

Paul smirked at this. He took a few steps forwards to inspect the washing on the line. Emily glanced at him as she pegged a shirt onto the plastic line.

"Well, I can see which ones Excadril hung out," Paul commented, "They're actually done properly."

"That's it," Emily yelled, "I'm getting Jigglypuff and you're going back to sleep!"

"I need to start dinner," Paul said, "Unless your Pokémon can do that too."

"Er… not really," Emily admitted.

"Can you cook?" Paul asked. Emily sweat-dropped. Paul took this as a no and walked back inside his house. He caught sight of the Pokémon he mistook for a cushion. He beckoned it over. "You look intelligent. Let me show you how to cook."

"Whim?" the Pokémon asked. It nodded and jumped towards the sink.

Dawn arrived home around seven pm. She stretched as she walked into the house. She jumped back in shock as she saw that the house had been tidied so much it almost sparkled.

"This is odd," Dawn mumbled, "Paul wouldn't usually clean."

"I didn't," Paul replied as he walked into the room.

"You're supposed to be at the hospital watching Pepper!" Dawn yelled. Paul held up his hands to calm his partner. She instantly calmed down.

"I did try," Paul said, waving his right hand. A tight vine was round his wrist signalling he had been made to stay inside the house. "Emily went to look after Pepper."

"Emily's home?" Dawn asked, "How did she take the news?"

"Pretty well," Paul replied, "But she said that we should have some time to ourselves for a night. She'll look after Pepper tonight and I'll go in the morning."

"And she cleaned as well?" Dawn asked looking around.

"Yeah," Paul said, "She has 'standards' apparently."

Dawn laughed at the way Paul quoted Emily with the slight movements on his fingers. Dawn walked over to him and hugged him tightly round the waist.

"A whole night to ourselves?" she asked, "What do you wanna do?"

"Sleep," Paul moaned. Dawn laughed again.

"I'll get some food and then I think I'll take you up on that," she said. She winked at Paul as she walked over to the fridge. She opened the white cooling tank to find that her dinner was sat waiting for her. She took it out of the fridge and unwrapped it. "Wow, you actually had time to cook today."

"And you didn't want them to get in the way," Paul remarked. Dawn prodded Paul in the stomach as she passed him on her way to the microwave.

"IT'S SO CUTE!" Pepper screamed as she hugged the cotton puff tightly. Whimiscott sang its name as it was hugged repeatedly.

"I know," Emily said. She looked over her younger sister. She didn't look like Pepper one bit but at the same time she did. Her skin was pale with a grey tinge to it. Her hair was short and spiky. The only thing bright about her was her eyes which were sparkling with happiness as she cuddled Whimiscott. Emily looked at Pepper, her face falling slightly. Is this as bad as it had become?

"I'm so glad you came to see me, Em," Pepper said, "Mum and dad were getting tired. I don't need them all the time but they don't like to leave me."

"I know," Emily said. Pepper looked up at Emily with a strange look on her face.

"You're scared," Pepper stated. Emily nodded. "Mum is like that. She looks at me like you do sometimes. It's like I'm going to disappear any second."

"She's worried about you," Emily told her sister.

"I know," Pepper said, "But I'm not going anywhere. I'm too stubborn to die or so dad tells me."

"I guess you are," Emily agreed with a smile on her face. Pepper stroked Whimiscott's head for a few seconds.

"When they told mum and dad I had cancer, mum screamed," Pepper said, "It scared me. I really thought I was going to die."

Emily bit her lip as the younger girl smiled fondly down at Whimiscott. The grass type was nuzzling Pepper in a comforting way.

"But I decided I wasn't going to," Pepper said finally, "I decided that I was going to live and go on my journey. I decided that I didn't want to make mum scream again and that I'd never see dad cry again. I didn't want to stop you or Will on your journeys either. I don't want to mess up people's lives just because of my illness."

"Pepper, you're not messing up people's lives," Emily said quickly. Pepper smiled at her sister.

"Of course you don't think that," Pepper said, "But I do. So I'm going to get better."

"That's great," Emily cheered, "You'd better get better otherwise…"

"Otherwise what?" Pepper asked. Whimiscott turned to look at Emily. Emily froze. She had no idea what she was going to threaten her sister with.

"Whim, whim," Whimiscott said happily, "Scot!"

"That's right!" Emily yelled, "Otherwise I won't give you Whimiscott as your first Pokémon."

"You're going to give me Whimiscott?" Pepper asked. Emily nodded.

"But only if you get better," Emily replied. Pepper held up the grass type smiling at it.

"Of course, I'll do anything to get better now," Pepper laughed.

Emily walked into the house around midnight that night. Pepper had fallen asleep with Whimiscott by her side so the nurses had decided to force Emily back home to get some rest.

Emily quickly became distracted by the noise of flapping material coming from the living room. Deciding it was better to go and investigate than run away, she stepped through the kitchen and peered into the next room.

"Will?" Emily gasped. Will was putting a blanket round his parent's shoulders while smirking at them. He looked up when he heard his sister talk to him.

"Hi, Em," Will said, "How are you?"

"Will, what are you doing here?" Emily asked as the two siblings rushed to hug each other. Will chuckled at his sister.

"I was in the neighbourhood," Will replied, "And the nurses said you were with Pepper so I decided to come here instead."

"You know?" Emily asked. Will nodded.

"Sorry, sis," he said, "But I kind of bribed Pepper with one of your Pokémon."

"So that's why she looked so happy to see Whimiscott then?" Emily asked. She punched her brother on his arm, lightly. "We're definitely family. I bribed her the very same way."

"Yup," Will laughed.

The two kids sat outside where it was quieter and where they wouldn't disturb their parents. It was a nice night. It was just warm enough with clear skies.

"How long have you known?" Emily asked.

"A while," Will replied, "I came back one day for a surprise visit but heard mum and dad talking about Pepper. I decided that they would tell me sooner or later and that they wanted to save that news for now. Instead I just went and visited Pepper every few weeks at midnight when mum was asleep. Never risked going when dad went. He'd wake up or not fall asleep at all. Mum drifts off."

"I feel like such a lousy older sister," Emily said grumpily, "I didn't know."

"I don't think Pepper minded," Will replied, smiling at Emily, "She knew that you'd want to stay rather than travel. It would've hurt her."

"I suppose," Emily sighed.

"And that's why I bribed her with a Pokémon," Will laughed, patting his sister on the back. Emily glared at Will for a few seconds.

"What do we do now?" Emily asked. Will shrugged.

"I have no idea, sis," Will replied.

"Well neither do I," Emily snapped. She held her head in her hands as she thought about everything that she had learnt in the last twenty four hours. Everything was so strange, so hard to comprehend. Will gave her a comforting pat on the back.

"Hey, we're family," Will said, "We'll pull through it together."

"I suppose so," Emily agreed quietly. Will grinned at her but his smile soon faded as they heard foot steps behind them. Paul looked down at his son and daughter, a bemused look on his face. Slowly he walked towards the fridge and poured himself a glass of apple juice.

Will and Emily glanced at each other, waiting for Paul to say something to them. He didn't since he was now drinking the apple juice he had just poured for himself. He put the glass down on the side and let out a small breath.

"I'll take your mother upstairs," Paul told them finally, "Don't stay up too late."

"Fine," Emily said.

"Night, dad," Will replied. Paul walked back into the lounge. He picked Dawn up and threw her over his shoulder gently. Dawn stirred for a few moments, muttering to Paul to be gentle with her. Paul chuckled and took her upstairs to bed.

"Seeing them like that brings back memories," Emily muttered. Will looked at her with curiosity. Emily blushed as she turned back to Will. "I mean after my real mum died and I first met mum."

"It's so easy to forget that mum and dad adopted you," Will said, "You really have been here forever you know."

"Not forever," Emily snapped.

"For me you have," Will replied, "Family without you would be too weird."

"That's true," Emily agreed, "And family without Pepper would be unbearable."

"Yeah," Will sighed. They sat for a few minutes until Will slapped Emily's leg in a playful sort of way. "Well, I'm going to bed."

"I'll lock up," Emily said with a nod. They got to their feet and walked inside. After Emily had locked the back door and closed all the other doors in the house, they walked upstairs to their rooms.

Will paused at his door.

"Hey, Em," he said quietly. Emily paused by her door to look at her brother. She looked confused for a second. "Have a nice sleep and don't worry about it. Anything can happen tomorrow so what until then."

"Thanks, Will," Emily replied with a smile, "Good night."

"Night, sis," Will said. They walked into their rooms and closed their doors as quietly as they could.

**Some time later…**

Pepper was bored. Wearing a blue woollen hat on her head with Shinx ears sown onto the sides (a design by her mother) and a similarly blue jumper with navy shorts, she sat on a park bench waiting for her siblings to arrive. She was slightly annoyed at how late they were but then again, she expected it from them.

They met up once every month to swap stories and check up on each other. They'd usually be running late so Pepper was used to it. Finally they appeared at opposite ends of the park, running to get to her.

"Sorry!" they yelled when they were in ear shot.

"You're late, again," she scolded them but she had a wide smile on her face.

"We're sorry," Will repeated.

"You should be used to it thought," Emily laughed. Pepper nodded. "So where do you want to go?"

"Ice cream," Pepper replied, "I want ice cream. And you two are going to buy it for me since you kept me waiting."

The three siblings laughed loudly at this but the two older ones agreed and dragged Pepper in the direction of the ice cream parlour. On the way there they laughed as they shared stories, smiles never leaving their faces.

Back at their house it was a totally different story. Paul was laid on a hammock in the back yard with his eyes closed and his arm securely round the waist of his long term girlfriend, Dawn. Still not married the two of them found they got along better than other couples. Today they were enjoying doing nothing but relaxing in the nice summer sun. They'd been rushing around for far too long.

"Paul," Dawn said suddenly.

"Hmm?" Paul replied to show he was listening.

"I've been thinking," she went on.

"What conclusion did you come to?" Paul asked.

"We live in a five bedroom house," Dawn replied, "With three kids who are never here."

Paul opened his eyes and sighed.

"You want another baby, right?" he guessed, "Despite just getting back our peace and quite, you want another kid."

"I'm bored," Dawn moaned, "Even with the shop and everything I am still bored. I need something… more."

"No running around after someone," Paul agreed.

"No caring for someone," Dawn added.

"No worrying if everything's going to be OK," Paul said.

"No thinking about worst case scenarios," Dawn sighed. There was a pause.

"Boy or girl?" Paul asked, merely out of curiosity.

"Twins?" Dawn suggested.

"Too much work," Paul replied, "We would be biting off more than we can chew then."

"I suppose so," Dawn laughed, "OK then… Boy?"

"Boy?" Paul repeated, eyebrows raised, "After the last one almost killed you?"

"It wasn't that bad," Dawn said, "I had Emily."

"How about girl?" Paul asked.

"You really want to be out numbered?" Dawn laughed.

"Fine, boy," Paul replied. Dawn rolled over slightly so she rested her chin on Paul's chest.

"Hair colour?"

"Blue," Paul replied.

"Eyes?"

"Black."

"Temperament?"

"Cute yet quiet."

"My nose or your nose?"

"Mine, you have a girly nose."

"Can I get him a sailor suit?"

"No."

"Please?"

"No."

"Aww, why?"

"Because I'm looking out for him, that's why."

"He doesn't even exist yet."

"And? Sailor suits are against the Sinnoh Law."

"Really? Who says?"

"Me."

"Oh….Can I get you a sailor suit?"

"Do you want this kid or what?"

"I'm torn now," Dawn moaned, "Baby or you in a sailor suit."

"No way," Paul snapped, jumping out of the hammock. He walked towards the house with Dawn following behind him.

"But you'd look so cute in one," Dawn said brightly, "Please oh please."

"No!" Paul yelled as he walked into the house. Dawn stepped into the house, smiling as she closed the door.

That year on Christmas day, the whole Shinji household sat in horror as they each unwrapped their own personalised sailor suits. It seemed like Dawn got all her wishes that year…

**Like I said, weird ending but I hope you enjoyed it. It took me so long to finish this because I didn't know what Pepper's fate was but I'm glad I decided on this ending. Plus I figured I needed more Ikarishipping-ness in it!**

**Please review!**

**RSx**


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